Steerable Bundle Allows More Accurate Delivery
Sometimes, airdrops over Afghanistan can be a real "scream." A
C-17 Globemaster III deployed to Southwest Asia conducted the first
C-17 combat airdrop May 24 using the Joint Precision Airdrop System
with a "screamer" -- a steerable GPS-guided container delivery
system bundle.
Air Force officials tell ANN the mission was also unique because
it conducted airdrops in two locations using two types of delivery
systems. The drops delivered food, water and ammunition to US
forces in two remote locations in Afghanistan. The crew first
delivered about 21,000 pounds of supplies using 14 of the JPADS
steerable screamer chutes. It then resupplied a different group of
ground forces with more than 8,000 pounds of supplies using six
Improved Container Delivery System bundles.
The benefit of the C-17 is that it can carry about 40 container
delivery system bundles and drop at multiple locations during a
single sortie, said Lt. Col. Paul Eberhart, the 816th Expeditionary
Airlift Squadron commander.
JPADS has been operational on C-130 Hercules and C-17s in
theater for about eight months. Until now, C-17s only used the
JPADS mission software to support drops using the ICDS.
The JPADS mission software computes a release point based on a
four-dimensional forecast wind model and the actual wind data
relayed to the aircraft. The data is then sent via wireless
transfer to GPS receivers located on the top of each CDS bundle.
Each bundle has GPS-guided autonomous actuators mounted at the top
that steer the chute while it drops at 100 mph to a point above the
drop zone. A larger parachute then deploys to slow the descent
rate, allowing for a soft touchdown of the bundle directly over the
drop zone.
Officials said using steerable chutes allows guaranteed accuracy
for ground forces while keeping the aircraft at high altitudes and
away from ground threats.
"This type of airdrop demonstrates the versatility of the C-17
aerial delivery system," said Lt. Col. Fred Boehm, an 816th EAS
operations officer.
When the eight-member crew from the 437th Airlift Wing at
Charleston Air Force Base, SC was notified about the drop, it began
planning the mission, said C-17 loadmaster Tech. Sgt. Gary
Kleinfeldt.
"This isn't a mission planned by one unit. We worked closely
with planners at the combined air operations center's air mobility
division, joint airdrop inspectors at the 774th EAS, and parachute
riggers at the 11th Quartermaster Detachment at Bagram Air Base,"
said Maj. Kevin Peterson, the aircraft commander. "It was a total
joint effort to make these drops happen."
"The system was amazing to watch," said Staff Sgt. Derek Howard,
the crew's evaluator loadmaster. "When the bundles departed the
aircraft and the chutes deployed, you could instantly see them
turning in what appeared to be a formation as the guidance system
began steering the bundle directly over the drop zone."
"This capability was first used by C-130s in theater," said
Colonel Eberhart.
The 816th EAS has been using the JPADS software with ICDS for
some time. But the mission May 24 was the first combat airdrop
using screamer chutes, expanding C-17 employment capabilities to
include the use of true precision vertical resupply.